Royal Sussex Hospital: Doctors warn of unsafe maternity services

Doctors have warned of "unsafe" maternity services at a Sussex hospital in emails seen by the BBC.

In the email chain between senior staff at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, consultants wrote of "compromises" to patient care.

One doctor said during a birth "we were one step away from a potential disaster".

One senior doctor wrote in the exchange that "increasing workforce issues" had contributed to making the situation in the maternity unit "almost unmanageable at times". They added: "We are making compromises to patient care every day as a result."

Another wrote that their workload was often "unmanageable, and obviously impacted by the staffing issues".

A senior member of maternity staff said "we are delivering suboptimal care" and "we are one step away from potential disaster".

A doctor also said staff were being "stretched", and that there were delays to women's care.

Another consultant wrote: "We have an unsafe service and we have to strive for better than that."

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Source: BBC News, 16 November 2022